Managing Seq

Seq Monitoring Skill

Query, analyze, and manage Seq structured log data using the Seq HTTP API.

API Overview

Seq uses a REST API at https://<SEQ_HOST>/api.

Core Helper Function

#!/bin/bash

seq_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local endpoint="$2"
    local data="${3:-}"
    if [ -n "$data" ]; then
        curl -s -X "$method" "${SEQ_URL}/api/${endpoint}" \
            -H "X-Seq-ApiKey: $SEQ_API_KEY" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            -d "$data"
    else
        curl -s -X "$method" "${SEQ_URL}/api/${endpoint}" \
            -H "X-Seq-ApiKey: $SEQ_API_KEY"
    fi
}

seq_query() {
    local filter="$1"
    local count="${2:-30}"
    seq_api GET "events?filter=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('${filter}'))")&count=${count}"
}

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover signals, dashboards, and API keys before querying.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Server Info ==="
seq_api GET "" | jq -r '"Version: \(.Version)\nInstance: \(.InstanceName)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Signals ==="
seq_api GET "signals" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Id)\t\(.Title)\t\(.Filters[0].Filter // "no filter")"' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Dashboards ==="
seq_api GET "dashboards" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Id)\t\(.Title)"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Alert Configurations ==="
seq_api GET "alertconfigurations" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Id)\t\(.Title)\t\(.NotificationAppInstanceId)"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Retention Policies ==="
seq_api GET "retentionpolicies" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Id)\t\(.RetentionTime)\t\(.DeletedAt // "active")"' | head -10

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Recent Error Events ==="
seq_query "@Level = 'Error'" 20 \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Timestamp[0:19])\t\(.Properties["SourceContext"] // "unknown")\t\(.RenderedMessage[0:80])"' | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Event Volume by Level ==="
seq_api GET "events/signal?signal=level" \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Label)\t\(.Count)"' | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Recent Warnings ==="
seq_query "@Level = 'Warning'" 15 \
    | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Timestamp[0:19])\t\(.RenderedMessage[0:80])"' | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Active Alerts ==="
seq_api GET "alerts" | jq -r '.[] | "\(.Id)\t\(.State)\t\(.OwnerTitle)"' | head -10

Output Rules

• TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target ≤50 lines — use count parameter and Seq filters
• Use Seq query language for filtering (e.g., @Level = 'Error' and SourceContext like '%Payment%')
• Leverage signals for pre-defined log groupings instead of ad-hoc queries

Output Format

Present results as a structured report:

Managing Seq Report
═══════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations